We can explore seperate Americas/Europe servers when the game launches. Reason I am hesitant now is because I wanna test the netcode before proactively splitting up the base. I can have the system in place for a seamless switch if need be ( pre made discord rooms, seperate league charts and so on) but hope we can keep it all together. Official start date will be the Monday after release.
What do you guys think about season length? Does 3 weeks sound too short? ( 2 weeks of matchmaking with 1 week of tourneys). Compared to say a 5 week season (4 weeks of matchmaking with last week of tourneys). Reason I ask is with running some numbers, 2 weeks of matchmaking could cause issues with seeding as number of points could have multiple duplicates.
SRK: Greenwood
CFN: That depends on whether the Beta will have it saved it or not.
Time Zone: EST (Eastern Long Island)
I did similar tournaments in '09 with SF4 on a different message board. I will echo what most people said about not giving people too much freedom with when they can play (in the early stages). The participants have to fit themselves into the time slot, not the other way around. Stricter the better, otherwise it gets too confusing. You almost have to treat the participants as mindless sheep - lead them to a specific time. The ones that are really into this idea will follow and it’ll be much easier on you to weed out the flakes. Yes, there might be a few people who really want to play but honestly can’t make it. Too bad. It’s not the end of the world, better luck next week. Personally, if both people are in the same time zone I would make it something like - your matches will be between 6pm-9pm on Monday. That’s it. Be there or be square. Essentially, if you can’t be around on a weeknight from 6pm-9pm, then this tournament might not be for you.
I’m telling ya, you gotta rule with an iron fist. Otherwise it could be a nightmare for you.
I think that is retarded and the original idea sounds a lot better. I for one would not be able to participate at all during the week. This isn’t rocket science, I like to think that most people are capable to deciding when they will play a set of matches between Thursday-Sunday, and if somebody doesn’t show up that is there problem. You cited SF4 as an example, but a lot has changed in 8 years, we have more tools at our disposal so running something like this doesn’t necessarily have to be ran “with an iron fist” as you put it.
The reason I went with a window of Thursday - Sunday is because if we don’t split into 2 leagues (which I am hoping the netcode doesn’t make us do), all match making will be randomly generated. This can be filtered to say have east coast be able to be paired with Europe ect ect, however with sticking with one league just know that come tournament time distance and connection will be a factor. lets give the network a shot before we decide to split into two, I’ll have duplicates ready for the split so say after the first month if it doesn’t work I can pass off everything to a Euro who wants to lead for a seamless transition. The announcement of your match on Monday gives you 3 days to get with your opponent and plan your match in discord (if you and your opponent want to get it done sooner than Thursday of that week then that is fine too, just know Thursday- Sunday are the only required times). Once a time is set and agreed upon in discord it will be recorded, whoever doesn’t show forfeits and the showing player wins the points for that set.
Since I am gravitating more towards a 5 week season I feel there will be ample time for those who miss a week due to not being able to make an agreed upon time to catch up the following week. Also with the amount of turnout, Its likely that their will be more then one person who has a change of plans, we can easily match up those who lost an opponent together so the week can continue to go smoothly.
At first at least all tournaments will be open to all, points will determine seeding. If we get enough people, points will determine if you even make it into the tournament at the end of the season. Haven’t decided on a number yet but 64 may be the sweet spot ( think we are closer to 40 as of now), we will see how things go. Therefore there will be extra incentive to actually make your match (on top of the player showcase if we get that approved). Players who sweep both matches in weeklies will earn an extra point. This is to create more point diversity in seeding.
If for any reason two people can’t come to an agreed upon time over the course of 4 days then it would be a forfeit, plenty of time to come up with enough points to seed in the following weeks. First post will be updated shortly with detailed information on the league.
It’s near impossible to compensate for everyone’s schedule. You have the right to join the tournament, you don’t have the right to have it catered to your schedule. If you can’t make it, then peace out little guy.
Trust me, when it’s mid-February and over a hundred people want in on this and then 20% of them have these bizarre schedules, it’s going to be a huge pain in the ass. Then the whole thing will take FOREVER and people will lose interest. This isn’t supposed to be a full time job for Plaid Unicorn.
But dictating that it is Monday night or nothing is ridiculous, heck some nights I don’t even get home from work until 8. We are all adults (I assume) and those serious about it will find a night over the course of a week to participate. If it is one match a week why force everyone to play on the same day and time frame?
Nothing you just said supports your statement that the tournament should be one night per week or bust. Yes, a lot of people have bizarre schedules which is why giving people the option to play from Thursday-Sunday is a good move. If they can’t make it then, that is too bad. However, dictating that the tournament must be held one night per week is just dumb and will alienate a lot of people who wish to participate.
Possibly count the first month as a “Preparation” month, because I can foresee a couple issues at the very start with scheduling and such. Gives the people involved a taste for what it will be like as well and see who is/isn’t competent at getting things done. Factoring in shitty connections too…if someone has a really bad connection and causes poor match quality for others I wouldn’t feel too terrible forcibly removing them from the league, that’s just me though.
I like a 3-week season! It’s not too much of a commitment and won’t feel drawn out, I’d like a “Hall of Fame” for any winner of the league and see how many times you can stack up your plaques.
EU/NA split will probably be a necessity, the difference in connection is going to be big. Just because the netcode is better doesn’t mean it can fix overseas connection issues. Fully in agreement with Ves.
The day it starts could be discussed a little, I’m not so certain many working folk could make it for a Monday. You also have to find the sweet spot for differing time-zones which is annoying.
I’m not so confident in my organization ability, but if somebody competent could oversee the EU portion of things I feel a straight split between groups wouldn’t be a bad idea, we can always pit our continents champions against each other at the end of a season too for fun.
The hall of fame idea is kind of where I am trying to go with the player spotlight. All season wins will be recorded and brackets will be archived for easy access for everyone… Maybe some type of icon that can go underneath the stars? that’s thinking way forward though, I still haven’t gotten a response yet from the site if they would do the showcase.
I originally liked the idea of a 3 week season as well, the only problem is it will be hard to seed with very little point diversity I think. I would have to get creative with the scoring, especially if we continue to have people signing up until release. If someone can think of a more creative scoring system let me know.
Thanks to everyone who wants to help and hit the inbox up. Appreciate it.
Here is an even crazier thought, give people a bit of flexibility so the whole community can enjoy it instead of being so ridged with a particular day of the week. It is one match a week what does it matter what day it is played?
It is all just suggestions right now. In fact, as far as I know, matches will be held between Thursday-Sunday (depending on which day competitors agree on).
